At least, that’s the intent of the trailer park’s management, which has ordered the residents of Lot 466 to take down an outdoor Nativity scene. The possible penalty: $100-a-day, if it’s not gone by Tuesday.

Meantime, the Nativity-hosting residents vow to not budge. They claim that not only is their rental agreement silent on the decor, but the exhibit is protected by their rights to free speech and religious freedom.

That’s what it boils down to in this trailer-park brouhaha: perceived tackiness vs. the First Amendment.

Deluxe Lake Estates rests in the northwest corner of Bellevue, population 1,887. The park has a lake, though it looked rather green on Thursday.

Near the lake sits Lot 466, home to David Powers, who will turn 32 on July 1 — the date of the threatened fine. Also living there is his grandmother, Mary Powers, 76. They have been there for about a year. They are buying the modest mobile home for $248.25 a month, over 10 years. Rent for the lot runs $233 a month.

Inside, Mary Powers has dotted the walls with an array of pictures, including prints of Jesus Christ and The Last Supper. The shelves are jammed with bric-a-brac, including two Nativity sets, the size of which you typically see under a Christmas tree.

“I’m Catholic,” she says. “You can see I’ve got those kinds of things throughout my home. That’s my religion.”

Earlier this year, a relative spotted an outdoor Nativity set at a yard sale and bought it for Mary Powers. The eight plastic pieces light up. The tallest is about 2.5 feet high.

David Powers says he set the Nativity in front of the trailer about three months ago. That made his grandma happy.

If anyone disliked the display, Powers heard no complaints — until Tuesday. That’s when he received an inspection notice from the management of Deluxe Lake Estates.

The pre-printed notice lists multiple possible violations, each preceded with a box that can be checked by management. On Powers’ notice, the box was checked indicating “lawn in need of cutting/trimming/raking.” David Powers says the lawn had been mowed three days earlier. But, in the wake of the notice, he mowed it again Wednesday.

Another box was checked, in front of a blank line for management to fill in as desired. That space carried a hard-written warning: “Please remove Nativity scene from front yard.” The notice demands compliance by July 1, under the threat of a possible $100 daily fine.

Page 2 of 3 - The bottom of the printed form includes a message from management: “We recognize our obligation to all residents to maintain the high quality of your community and protect your investment by enforcing the guidelines.”

David Powers scoffs. For one, he says he has a constitutional right to put up religious displays. Plus, he says enforcement is random: other residents violate other guidelines, such as by setting boats and tow trucks on their property, both of which are forbidden in the rental agreement.

Manager Leah Perry agrees other residents violate guidelines. But Perry, who signed the notice to Powers, says he isn’t being singled out. Perry holds up a stack of other warnings and says, “I have to go out on inspection. When I see a violation, I send out a notice.”

From Indianapolis, Perry arrived as manager a month ago. She works for the owner of Deluxe Lake Estates, Heritage Financial Group Inc. of Elkhart, Ind. In the rental office, on a wall near her desks, a prominent sign cautions potential deadbeats, “If you ain’t payin’, you ain’t stayin’.”

Of the other violations, many involve lawn care, Perry says. A few times recently, she has told other residents to take down Christmas decorations.

“They had no issue with that,” Perry says. “ ... It’s not the Christmas season.”

To her, I mentioned David Powers’ claims regarding free speech and religious freedom.

“I’m not trying to violate anyone’s right to religion,” she says. “I just want the community to look nice.”

But, I wondered aloud, is “look nice” an arbitrary designation? Perry grabbed the four-page guideline booklet and said with a smile, “Let me see if there’s something in here.”

As she glanced over the paragraphs — which I’d reviewed before arriving — I told her, “There’s nothing in there about the decorations.”

She kept looking, then got to Paragraph H. She read the opening sentence: “Residents must manage their yards in a neat and attractive manner.” However, the rest of the wording of that paragraph specifically refers to grass, shrubs, leaves and other natural landscaping. There’s no mention of lawn decorations — Christmas or otherwise.

Still, Perry’s argument keeps coming back to a point that she likes to make: “This is private property.”

Page 3 of 3 - Further, she says the display might have nothing to do with religious fervor. She says it went up not three months ago, just two weeks ago. She thinks David and Mary Powers might be upset about previous lawn-mowing notices. Further, Perry says they might be peeved about various notices sent to relatives living elsewhere in the trailer park. Because of all that, she suggests the Nativity scene could be an act of retaliation.

“I think maybe they put it up to see what I’d do, and then make a big stink,” Perry says.

Regardless, what will happen on the July 1 deadline? Will David Powers and his grandma be fined $100 a day?

Perry said she can send a second notice. At that point, most residents comply regarding violations. But, she acknowledges, the fine is no idle threat.

Still, David Powers says the Nativity scene isn’t moving. He is seeking public-interest groups to come to his aid to make a legal challenge. Meantime, he says, he’ll face any fine.